In both cases, these churches have been approved by Canada Revenue Agency as a charitable organization under the terms of the Income Tax Act and have demonstrated the appropriate signs of viability. In harmony with the expectations of paragraphs 305.5.6 and 306.6 of The Manual, the church will demonstrate “an attitude of intention” by moving toward 5% of its general budget receipts (only those receipts coming from parishioners) to The Free Methodist Church in Canada Core ministries program, beginning the first month after it becomes a fellowship or an affiliated organization. This remains consistent with the parent/child analogy above, where young children are only expected to tithe on the income that they earn themselves, not on the other perks or benefits they receive for being part of that family. Therefore churches are not be expected to tithe on grants, subsidy or gifts that come from Giving Streams, parent churches or otherwise. Prior to applying for society status, a church with affiliate status should be moving toward the 10% participation level and be moving toward full independence from denominational subsidy.
